Chapter 85: Planning Ahead

Seeing Lin Dong finally stand up, Cao Wei showed a hint of satisfaction, as if he had regained his former sense of power.
This kid really hadn’t been seen in too long—without a reminder, he even forgot Lord Cao’s might.
“It’s good you remember. Hurry up and…”
Cao Wei glanced sideways. Before he could finish, a strong wind blew, surprising him. Looking slightly downward, he saw a dark shadow flash by—somewhat resembling a bench.
Cao Wei had been promoted to deputy captain of the Yang family’s guard team mainly due to connections, but he also possessed the strength of the Eighth Level of the Lingdong Phase, so his reflexes weren’t bad. He immediately leaned back.
Unfortunately, as soon as his head dipped slightly, he felt a tremendous force hitting him.
Bang!
To the astonishment of the four guards, Cao Wei was flung backward, accompanied by a string of bloody droplets.
With a thud, Cao Wei, surprisingly resilient, managed to stand up despite being covered in mud and having taken a severe blow to the head.
Lin Dong smiled calmly. After six years apart, this once-mighty team leader hadn’t stopped practicing!
Cao Wei held his bloody head, stunned for a few seconds before suddenly glaring around furiously, “Who? Who dared attack me?”
The four guards came to their senses and quickly stepped forward to protect Cao Wei, glaring at Lin Dong.
One of the guards pointed at Lin Dong and whispered, “Deputy captain, it was him who attacked us just now.”
Despite the severe headache, Cao Wei couldn’t help but pull out one hand to slap the guard’s head. “Are your eyes blind? If he had the guts, I’d go to the capital and slit the emperor’s throat right away!”
The guards exchanged glances. They had joined the Yang family later, and although the old guards had told them about Lin Dong’s past, they refused to believe their eyes were playing tricks.
“Come out! If you’ve got guts, show yourself!”
Cao Wei spun around, holding his head. The attacker didn’t appear, but Lin Dong stepped forward, holding the bloody bench.
“Tell me! What exactly happened?” Lin Dong asked calmly.
“Damn it! If I knew who attacked me, I’d have skinned him already,” Cao Wei snapped.
“I’m asking why the Yang family suddenly wanted me to marry into their family,” Lin Dong retorted irritably.
“It’s because you found such a ‘good son’!” Cao Wei, still furious at the attacker, instinctively explained, “You’ve been in the Yang family for so many years—you know what it means to a family when a boy reaches the Eighth Level of the Lingdong Phase at just a teenager’s age.”
Lin Dong was stunned. It was actually because of Tianhao!

Xiao Tianchi knew about Tianhao’s talent because one of his disciples was brother to the guard who was beaten by the patrol. How did the Yang family find out?
Miss Yang the Fourth?
Lin Dong shook his head secretly. Tianhao didn’t start attending Qiushui Academy to learn spiritual skills and cultivate until he was eight years old. By the time Miss Yang the Fourth returned, Tianhao and his sister were only six and a half years old. It seemed it was still related to that beaten patrol member.
Since he knew the reason and had no interest in dealing with the Yang family, Lin Dong naturally didn’t want to waste time. With a flash, he appeared in front of Cao Wei just as Cao Wei thought he was seeing things.
“How about collecting some interest first?” Lin Dong said with a smile.
“Huh?” Cao Wei couldn’t understand the meaning of these words at first.
Lin Dong suddenly pushed his knee hard at Cao Wei’s vital spot. With a thud, Cao Wei’s body curled up like a bow, his hands, which were originally covering his head, quickly moved to clutch his vital areas as he started hopping around, letting out pig-like screams.
The four guards were shocked and immediately drew their swords from their waists, aiming at Lin Dong. But due to the speed he had just shown, none of them dared to move forward.
Grabbing Cao Wei by his hair and throwing him to the ground, Lin Dong raised the bench in his hand and swung it hard at his right leg.
With a crisp crack, Cao Wei’s leg, which was kicking wildly, suddenly stopped and then collapsed as he convulsed.
Severely injured, Cao Wei howled in pain. To Lin Dong’s surprise, he still hadn’t lost consciousness.
Glancing at the four guards who were too scared to move forward, Lin Dong waved his hand and said, “That’s enough. Carry him away! Tell Yang Huailiang that I have no interest in becoming his son-in-law.”
“You… how dare you! It really was you who attacked me from behind.”
Somehow still having strength, Cao Wei held his vital area with one hand and his broken leg with the other, his face twisted in pain.
“It’s already good enough that I didn’t demand payment for those trivial debts,” Lin Dong said coldly. “I give you half a incense stick’s time. If you don’t leave, you’ll bear the consequences.”
“Lin Dong, how dare you disobey the master’s orders?” Cao Wei trembled with hatred. He never expected that the once meek lamb, after several years, not only hadn’t stopped cultivating but also knew how to launch surprise attacks.
Lin Dong bent down and stared coldly at Cao Wei, saying sharply, “Go back and tell Yang Huailiang that Tianhao is now a disciple of the Gu Huan Sect. If you try to take Tianhao from me or spread any rumors about him, don’t be afraid to let the Gu Huan Sect expel the Yang family from Qiufeng City—just give it a try.”
Facing Lin Dong’s gaze, Cao Wei felt an inexplicable chill and didn’t dare to make eye contact.
“The half incense stick’s time is almost up,” Lin Dong said, looking at the four guards.

Looking at the bloody bench, the four guards shuddered in unison. After Lin Dong turned around, they hurriedly stepped forward, lifted Cao Wei up in a rush, and fled in panic.
“Be gentle, you bastards! Be gentle!” Cao Wei’s pained screams drifted over. “Lin Dong, don’t think you’re something special just because you’ve found a ‘good son.’ If you’ve got guts, don’t let me see you in Qiufeng City—you’ll regret it…”
Lin Dong smiled as he returned to his room. Those words reminded him of the idea of opening branches.
Given the number of merchants in Xilan City, once the inn system reached level 5, it would likely be at capacity. Moreover, most of the inn’s income came from the wealthy families in Xilan City. Even without any competitors, ten private rooms would be sufficient, and expanding further would be nearly impossible.
To continue growing, it would be necessary to open branches and move the main inn to a larger location.
In Lin Dong’s view, Qiufeng City was undoubtedly the best choice for the main inn. Firstly, the number of merchants from other counties wasn’t enough to support more rooms. Moving directly to the county seat meant that without developed supporting industries, relying solely on comfort and one signature dish would make it hard to compete with places like Fenglin Restaurant. Secondly, moving to Qiufeng City would facilitate branch development. At the very least, with Fu Zizhou’s weakness and connections through Li Yunfeng to Li Jiancheng, the deputy magistrate of Qiufeng Mansion, they could avoid official troubles—no need to curry favor with a county magistrate just to open a branch.
Though it was still some time away, the priority was to ensure Lin’s Inn completely dominated the wealthy families in Xilan City. At its current level, it could easily last for over half a year without worrying about experience points. But buying land in Qiufeng City to build a new inn wouldn’t interfere with anything. After all, the inn already had more than two thousand taels of silver, and the funds for building the inn would be available after purchasing the land.
After pondering for a moment, Lin Dong made up his mind. More than two thousand taels of silver needed to be entrusted to someone reliable. With Lin’s Inn currently in a fierce competition with Fenglin Restaurant, Ma Chun, the new manager, definitely couldn’t be trusted. After deciding on the right person, Lin Dong immediately turned back to the lobby and asked Ma Chun to send someone to find Liu Hao.
Worried that there were no more ruffians in Xilan City to subdue, the innkeeper decided to buy land and build a new inn to enter Qiufeng City directly. Liu Hao immediately showed great enthusiasm, pounding his chest and guaranteeing to complete the task.